Category Archives: vintage dress making
vogue 8782
this is a vogue dress, I made it in a size smaller than usual, partly because the pattern I bought was a size smaller, but mostly because I have been finding that a lot of these dresses have been large around the bust area and it is easy enough to add two inches at the waist rather than do a small bust adjustment.
the sizing has come out quite well, apart from being a bit tight around the front of the arms, on the bright side it might just make me stand up straight and stop slouching.
as you can see it has a pleat at the back and three at the front.
as you can see in the top photo it has some fancy detail instead of the normal darts, you stitch in the diamond shape first the fold it over to create the cut out.
Butterick 6214
this is the second time i have written this post the first time i posted it, i received txt congratulating me on my post then it disappeared into the posting black hole.
I was a bit concerned about the scalloped neckline as the pattern was a size too large, although i knew i could slash the pattern the scallops would be a challenge.
I decided to use my printer scanner, i worked out the ratio i needed to reduce it by, and hey presto.
the only change i made between this top and the one the actual dress is that i lengthened it by 1/2 inch.
this dress looks beautiful but it is an impractical dress to wear as you will see in the last photo
here are some detail shots
and here is the shot you’ve been waiting for
purchases this week
I have bought some fabric this week, I had an email from Kaye’s Textiles this week saying that they had some new cotton fabric and it will be on sale for a week.
The fabric i bought in the end was not on sale and i had already see it but here it is
i also have a few new patterns
i’m not sure which one i’m going to make first but it will probably be the last one, Vogue 8781, as you can see I am on a bit of a Vogue kick at the moment but I am trying to cut down on my spending but it doesn’t appear to be happening.
I’m hoping this week to have my rose border print dress finished and the dress with the shoulder pleats so watch this space.
Butterick 6833
I’m going to try to do a slightly more in depth post on this dress.
Pattern envelope
If you look closely at the pattern you should just be able to make out the pattern detail on the shoulders and hip. I thought that the print might have been a bit mistake but from a distance it isn’t too bad. It is just as well it is so busy as I folded the fabric in half which meant that some of the pattern ended up upside down.
The first photo is the front pieces, you need to enforce the front with two sets of stitching round what will become the slash point which you can’t see on this photo, but what you can see is the placket which is used to reinforce what will become a seam.
You then slash up to the dot.
Fold the placket up, then put in the pleats
stitch the placket over the top of the pleats using topstitching, unfortunately the top stitching hasn’t come out well in this photo.
roughly the same process is copied for the front of the skirt.
Border pattern dresses
I’ve just bought some fabric with a large border pattern
I’m hoping to have bought enough fabric to make vogue 9040 with it so I can get a look similar to this
Fabric from ebay, dress photo from etsy.
vogue 9040 part 2
here we have another finish red and white dress, this is the first dress that i have made that looks like the actual picture on the envelope.
I also thought that as the sun was shining I would take the photos outside, of course by the time i had put the dress on and moved the camera downstairs the sun had gone in. Also my shoes weren’t quite up to the muddy grass either.
This is the first vogue dress pattern i had put together and i was surprise at how easy it went together. I wasn’t sure about the buttons but seeing them on now i’m quite happy with them.
![IMG_2910[1]](https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2884/13353637393_01dc97fae8.jpg)
Here’s a not such a good shot but it has the shoes in it.
i’ll definitely be making this dress again.
Half Way Through March
We are half way through march and I have had quite a productive Sunday.
close up of inside collar
My red dress with the white flowers has every thing done but the hand stitching and button, I’ll admit that I cheated a bit, I did the hem on my sewing machine, I started off hand stitching but the fabric is so heavy and so wide that I decided against it.
Pinstripe Skirt, I finished unpicking the zip, put the zip back in attached the lining and waistband. I am now waiting for the inch grosgrain Ribbon to complete the waistband.
Close up of Waistband
skirt
I have also practically finished my second version of New York Gold 444 that just need the buttons and finishing off the hand stitching.
close up of cuff and sleeve
Vogue 9040
I was very bad at the weekend I started a new dress Vogue 9040, continuing my love of Pintucks this dress has four large pintucks down each side of the bodice, the front also has darts that are incorporated in to the pintucks.
If you look closely you can see the Pintucks
I think this the first pattern I have put together that does actually look exactly like the drawing on the envelope.
I’m not sure what the fabric is, it was billed as a seersucker type fabric on ebay, which it isn’t. It has a grid like design on it and the flowers feel like they have been painted on with a rubberised tipex brush.
The dress went together quite easily but will always be known as the dress with ‘all those darts’ it has 8 panels and two outside darts in each, I was lucky to get the end without putting at least one dart on the inside instead of the outside, I think the fit is quite good.
I hope to find some nice buttons for it at Olympia on Friday.
Butterick 6079
This is the story of three dresses all made from the same pattern (sort of)
First we have mauve dress, I’ve used this fabric a couple of times in different colourways. I love this dress, it is the third pattern I actually finished, however you can see by the front I wimped out. It should have 20 buttons and the corresponding button loops, it hasn’t it has a side zip instead. I discussed it with Ann we couldn’t decide what size buttons to use, we knew what they should look like, but not what they were called. We thought it should have those little pearl/mushroom type buttons but not where to get them from and as I said not the size also have you any idea how hard it is to match buttons to this fabric.
I liked this dress so much that I decided to make it again, this time with the button loops.
The Green Dress I found the buttons first, in a shop called Gina’s along the London Road, Gina has loads of buttons in boxes various prices and these small dark green buttons caught my eye I think they were 5p each bargain it took me about 5 minutes to find 21 of them (I like to get a spare). I when home straight on to eBay and found the fabric Cotton vintage type pattern very reasonable.
If you follow the instructions it goes together very easily, it is slightly too big up the sides but you can fix that by taking in the side seams 1/4 inch. The button loops were a nightmare it took me ages to get them turned in the right way, then working out how long to make them and the best way to attach them to the dress so they were equal distance apart before putting on the facing. it was worth it, I think this is one of my favourite dresses.
Technically the blue dress isn’t this pattern, the skirt is from a totally different pattern, the dress didn’t work in this fabric, it had a lightly gathered neck line which wouldn’t lie flat and sagged most awkwardly. I gave it up as a bad job and looked around for something else to do with the fabric, as most of my other pattern at this time were kimono sleeves I didn’t have the fabric for it. I think the end result looks good and I am pleased with the red buttons.
As you can see on the blue dress I still didn’t manage to get the button completely right, and where you can see a button missing at the waistline that is to accommodated the belt (not shown in this picture)
Also this dress is the second finish for March. It also looks a lot better on than it does pinned to my dressmakers dummy
March – Month of the UFO (UnFinished Object)
As well as making something new (to me) I am hoping to get some of my dressmaking projects finished.
We have, in no particular order:-
slip pattern (McCalls 8521)
This needs the second part of the bodice stitching in and a zip up the side, it also needs hemming, you have probably already seen photos of it without realising, as the dress makers dummy is wearing it at the moment.
Two piece dress (Butterick 7664)
This is a beautiful straight skirt which is nearly finished, in fact it might just need hemming and a button put on it, the top half of the dress needs some of the overstitching taken off the bottom and the collar attaching, to be honest I can see myself wearing the skirt but not the top. Although I love the fabric to look at I’m not gone on it in this suit, but it should look lovely in a dress.
1960s spotty Trousers (Style 3193)
You’ve seen the trousers, as I have never fitted trousers before I’m not quite sure what to do with them, but I suppose I should put the waist band on and start from there.
I think that the waist band is going to be too high for comfort and also too high to actually look good for one thing I haven’t got a big stomach but the way the fit comes up and over it doesn’t look good. So may be bringing the waist down a little bit would be good.
Rayon Dress (New York 1478)
You’ve seen pictures of the dress already here, it still need buttons, button holes and general finishing off, hemming, slip stitching and so on.
Blouse (Butterick 8097)
The Blouse is sort of a cheat all I have to do with it is put the buttons back on the cuffs, looking at it the other day I think the buttons were in the wrong place, I couldn’t get them done up over my fat arms.
Slim dress (Butterick 7781)
this dress looks good on the front of the packet, but I think that it is not as fitted as some of the other dresses I have made, and so when I tried it on it looked a little big, also it was made from seersucker fabric so that might have added to the bigness factor.
Buttoned fronted dress (Butterick 6079)
I need to redo the belt, I have made the belt and done the buckle, now I want to put the two together I can’t find the belt part. This dress will make it easier to see the button detail than the previous version blogged about.
Pinstriped skirt
This is finished apart from the fact I’m not sure how the waist band is attached I need to sit down with the instructions and the waistband and just get on with it.
Blue skirt (Vogue ???)
I think this has the same issue as the pinstriped skirt no waist band, I don’t think it has a zip either.
Another skirt
I think this is the same pattern as one of the other skirts, the fabric isn’t right for it, the fabric is actually Blazer material so it is a bit heavy and doesn’t take creases very well, I might just give this one up as a bad job, but the fabric, of which I have a lot of would probably be suitable for a summer coat/jacket.
Walkaway dress (Butterick 6472
)
My new one, there is no way I am getting this finished in February, I still have all the hemming, belt and buttons/button holes to do.
Pintucked dress (New York Gold 444)
Same as the walkaway dress, buttons/buttonholes hemming and a belt.
There will be more pictures and more detailed descriptions to come as I finish these items.
Musings of a Craft Enthusiast 